Illicit Caller Is Collared Before He Can Run a Long Distance

Athief who grabbed a cellphone from a teenager in Redondo Beach made a bad connection, according to the Beach Reporter newspaper. As the thief raced through the South Bay Galleria, his victim hailed a Nordstrom security guard. The guard quickly grabbed the thief and held him for police. No surprise there. You know what people say about Nordstrom: It’s expensive, but you do get good service.

Up the checkout line without a paddle: During the recent downpour, Allen Rennett noticed that one Sav-on employee seemed to be making a distress call (see accompanying).

Rocks of ages: This week’s drama involving the house-sized boulder teetering above Pacific Coast Highway may have sounded like a rerun to longtime residents of Malibu.

A quarter-century ago, another boulder loomed above the highway, threatening drivers until it was pulled down. But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Artist Brett-Livingstone Strong obtained a chip off the old rock and carved it into the shape of John Wayne’s head (see photo). The Duke’s noggin was displayed in the forecourt of Mann’s Chinese Theater for a while. Then it was purchased for a reported $1 million by an Arizona businessman, who donated it to a school in Texas.

I wish the sculpture were here during the Oscar ceremonies. Bring back the head of John Wayne!

Moving down the drama scale: Ray Keesler was in a coffee shop in a little town in North Dakota when he noticed a sign that seemed to sum up the pace of life back there (see photo).

More alphabet soup: You may recall that this column quoted a former maitre d’ at L.A.’s ABC Chinese restaurant as saying that the initials had nothing to do with a certain TV network but stood for “America’s Best Chinese.” And, the maitre d’ added, ABC’s branch operation in Monterey Park -- the NBC restaurant -- was short for “Next Best Chinese.” So, I asked, what about a more recent eatery -- L.A.’s CBS Chinese restaurant -- started by some former employees of ABC?

“Keeping with the TV theme,” suggested Aubrey Compton of Canyon Country, “CBS could mean ‘Chinese Best Spinoff.’ ”

miscelLAny: Just Long Beach’s luck. For years, the city was stuck with Howard Hughes’ giant Spruce Goose airplane, which proved a flop as a tourist attraction. It was shipped off to a museum in McMinnville, Ore.

And what happened some time later? “The Aviator” opened and garnered a best-movie Oscar nomination. It features the 1-mile flight Hughes made in the Goose in Long Beach Harbor.

But who benefits?

USA Today reports that attendance at the Oregon museum “has soared.” Nothing worse for Long Beach than adding insulting pun to injury.